You Can't Hide Forever
by vaatu
Summary: When Red takes a vacation from training at Mt. Silver, he discovers that he can't hide from adventure forever. Burningleafshipping/Luckyshipping. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

Hey, guys. Look, this is... well... it's definitely not my best writing. I had no plan for this or where it was going; frankly, it kinda sucks. Read it if you really want to, but I'd appreciate it if you didn't base your opinion of my writing off of this.

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><p>AN: This is my first attempt at fanfiction. I based the characters on the games so there would be wiggle room for personalities. Enjoy!~

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Pokémon-related except this story.

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><p>"There's a juicy rumor going around that the legendary trainer Red is returning home to Pallet Town. Is he just taking a vacation, or has he finally met his match? I'm afraid that's all the time we have. Follow Celadon News for the latest updates!"<p>

_The media got something right for once._ Red smiled grimly to himself as he and his Charizard flew over Viridian City. No, he hadn't been conquered; the Association's president had been in one of his rare contented moods, and offered him a vacation. Red had been surprised, but after spending three years on Mt. Silver, he wasn't about to turn down a month of nice weather and relaxation.

His Charizard nudged him, shaking him out of his thoughts, and Red realized with a start that they were descending. They landed right outside of Red's old house, and Red dismounted quietly. He didn't want to cause any attention; the media had their ways of knowing whenever he stepped on a twig or made a comparable amount of noise. He silently unlocked the back door, and was immediately attacked by a barrage of noise.

"_Reeeeeeeeeeeeed!_" His mother ran over to the door and hugged him tightly. "How are you? Are you alright? You're so cold! Did you remember to change your underwear? I've missed you so much!"

Red pried her off embarrassedly. "Mom, I'm fine. I missed you, too." He took a look around the familiar first-floor kitchen and caught sight of several other people he hadn't seen in a long time – a girl with long brown hair, wearing her signature hat; a bored-looking boy with spiky dark hair and deep brown eyes; and a white-haired, bespectacled man. "Leaf? Green? Professor Oak?" He was never one of much emotion, but he hugged each one of them in turn, despite Green's sullen protests.

Leaf spoke first. "Your mom called us yesterday and told us you were coming home today. She invited us over for dinner," she explained.

"And here's that dinner that I'm sure everyone's been looking forward to!" Red's mother exclaimed, setting a steaming bowl of pasta on the kitchen table. It was then that Red realized how much he missed his mother's cooking; berries and canned food wasn't his ideal diet. He accepted the plate gratefully; pasta had never seemed like a better idea.

"So, how was Mt. Silver?" asked Professor Oak. "Did you see many new Pokémon?"

"It was…cold," Red admitted. "I did come across the occasional Dewgong or Cloyster, though."

"After you went up, my gym got lots of publicity. They were all childish trainers who wanted their sixteen-badge requirement to face you. I beat them easily," Green said in a superior tone.

"I did get three challengers: Gold, Silver, and Crystal," Red said. "Tough, but not impossible." He paused to shovel a spoonful of noodles in his mouth. "What happened while I was gone? It's probably a lot more interesting than standing at the top of a mountain all day."

They talked and talked – of the new apartment buildings that had finally been built in Vermilion City; of the travelers from Sinnoh that now sold poffins at the market; of the comet that had fallen at Mt. Moon…Red listened intently, hanging on to every word the others spoke. Soon, dinner was over, and Green announced to Red and Leaf that they were coming to his house for a sleepover.

"Sure! I'll be over in five minutes; I need to get my sleeping bag," said Leaf cheerfully.

"Whatever. Smell ya later," Green said indifferently as he headed for the door. "Thanks for dinner!" he called to Red's mom.

"I'll be going, too." Professor Oak rose from his chair. "Thanks again for the wonderful meal, Delia."

Red, who had been seemingly deep in thought, came back to his senses and nodded. "Thanks, Mom."

He trudged up the familiar, creaky staircase and walked into his room. It was clean, for once; Red supposed his mother had tidied it up after he left for Mt. Silver. He grinned as he opened the closet – here was the place his mother wouldn't have dared to touch. When he was about seven, he had written up a contract stating that no one could come in his closet but himself, and forced his mom to sign it. She kept true to her word; consequently, Red's closet was the messiest place in the house. Surprisingly enough, he knew where everything was. Reaching under the not-quite-folded blanket in the corner, he pulled out a worn shoebox. He opened the lid, dropped the contents of his pocket in it, and threw it on his bed. He tugged a scarlet sleeping bag from behind the clothes rack and threw it on his bed as well, along with a pair of pajamas, a shirt, and jeans. Stuffing everything into the sleeping bag, Red walked down the stairs and out the back door.

•••

Green impatiently paced his lime-colored room. Leaf relaxed on his Ditto beanbag chair with her headphones blasting, tapping her foot to the beat of the music. _Scarlet Chrome_, Leaf thought wistfully. That song always reminded her of Red. She wished he'd hurry up and come over; she'd spent two years missing him, and she hadn't had much time to talk to him during dinner. Just as she was thinking she'd have to go to his house and kidnap him, he opened the door and announced,

"Guess what I brought?"

Green stopped in his tracks. He grinned.

"No _way_."

Red unceremoniously deposited his sleeping bag on the floor and started to pull out the shoebox.

"Wait until later." Leaf spoke for the first time since Red had entered the room. She strode over to Red and stared him in the eyes. _A bit too close_, Green noticed. She turned towards Green. "Story time first. Shall we?" Red, Green and Leaf simultaneously arranged their sleeping bags in a circle on the floor and climbed into them. Leaf propped herself up on her elbows and nodded to Green. "You first."

It was a tradition of theirs to share one story about themselves that they normally kept a secret. It was kind of like Truth or Dare, but truth was the only option – and it had to be _detailed_. Red had learned the hard way that two sentences were not enough for story time. His two best friends had forced him to elaborate on the time when he and Cerise Walker had gotten married when they were six. Yeah, he'd rather forget that. But now, it was Green's turn, and Red was quite anxious to hear more of what he'd missed.

"So…" Green began. He had a sly half-smile on his face, as though he was about to say something he knew would be a shock to his two best friends. He took a deep breath, his smile never wavering, and started his story. "I have a girlfr-"

"She's rich, isn't she?" Leaf interrupted, amused.

"Damn right she's rich!" Green said, laughing. "This is _me_ we're talking about."

"Well, what's her name, then?" Red asked, slightly miffed by his friend's attitude.

"Platina Berlitz," Green said triumphantly.

"No _way!_" Leaf gasped. Her eyes went wide. "Not _the_ Platina Berlitz? Like, Sir Berlitz's daughter?"

"The one and only," Green said with a smug smile.

"Isn't she only fourteen? I thought you said two years was too much," Red said, still annoyed.

"Did I?" Green waved his hand impatiently. "Anyways, she visited here a few months ago, with a bunch of bodyguards and shit, y'know? But I got to talk to her for a while – she told her guards to go away – and next thing I know, I'm at a fancy restaurant with a hot rich girl, so I asked her out. Her bodyguards didn't look too happy."

Leaf was still in awe that she knew someone who knew Platina Berlitz. Red was still in awe that Green could get whatever girl he wanted by doing nothing at all. _I'm the most well-known trainer in Kanto, and I can't even get the girl of my dreams. Why _is_ that?_ he asked himself furiously. _If he can, then I can. I'll figure it out._

Red came back to his senses. Green was finishing up his story with the same smug smirk he wore when he started.

"So I should be seeing her tomorrow… I'll let you two meet her." Green looked at Leaf. "You next."

"Well…" Leaf sat up, reached into her backpack, and pulled out four PokéBalls. "I went to see my aunt in Hoenn-"

"When was this?" Green asked, confused.

"A few months ago," Leaf explained. "You weren't home. Your grandpa said you were in Celadon. Anyways, she lives in Ever Grande, near the League. And there's this _huge_ field behind her house – it kind of connects to Victory Road. She said to catch whatever I wanted. So, here they are!" In a flash of red light, four silhouettes encircled Leaf. "Here's Shelgon, Metagross, Absol, and Kirlia!"

"Nice!" Red and Green said simultaneously. Leaf recalled them into their respective PokéBalls, and wiggled back into her sleeping bag. Green and Leaf both looked at Red.

"What's your story?"

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><p>AN: Cliffhanger! Reviews would be wonderful. Let me know what you think; tell me if you liked it or if it sucked. You can guess what's in the box Red brought... cookies for anyone who guesses correctly!

Thanks so much to The mysterious Z for suggesting that I combine this into a single chapter, which I did. Constructive criticism is always helpful! :D

~Ebaz


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – Revised 1/14/12

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><p>AN: Here's the second chapter. Thanks so much to Unknownlight and The mysterious Z for reviewing! Enjoy!~

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><p>"What's your story?"<p>

Red took a deep breath and sighed. He wasn't sure if he wanted to say this…but it had been haunting him for too long…

"While I was at Mt. Silver, the days were fine, if only a bit cold," he began, fully aware that since he started, he'd have to finish, "but… every night, I'd have the same dream. At first, I assumed it was all a coincidence. Then I researched it, just for the heck of it… Have either of you heard of Giratina?"

Leaf just looked confused, but Red saw recognition on Green's face. "Platina mentioned Giratina. It's a little-known legendary Pokémon from Sinnoh, right?" Green asked slowly.

Red sighed again and nodded; he was hoping his dream had been wrong, but here was evidence to the contrary yet again.

"In my dream, I was in a really strange place. There were lots of columns; they looked ancient. The thing is, it looked like something _deformed_ the whole place. Everything was twisted… It's hard to explain, but it was _creepy_." He paused, searching for the right words. "There was a girl… She was just standing in the middle of the area, completely still. She had her hands in the air, like she was calling something. Then, this dark hole opened up from the ground, and a huge shadow came out. It stared at the girl for a while, and then, it kind of pulled her into the hole where it came from, and she disappeared. It looked at me…and I could hear its voice inside my head –"

Leaf giggled. "Is Red hearing voices in his head again?"

"It wasn't like that!" Red said, irritated. "It was _speaking_, okay? I just couldn't see a mouth moving… but it said something like, 'Don't think you can save her, Red. She's with me now. Giratina does not allow visitors.' I don't know if it was talking about something else, or if it was Giratina. But it laughed, and then everything turned into shadow…And then I woke up," he ended lamely.

Green, who had worn a contemplative attitude during all of Red's description, offered an explanation. "Maybe…" He motioned towards Red's bag, where the shoebox currently resided.

Red shook his head vehemently. "She wouldn't do that. I know she wouldn't."

Leaf yawned. "It's definitely something significant, but I can't think right now. It's almost three," she said, checking her PokéGear.

"Should I bring her out?" Red asked, rising from his sleeping bag.

"Yes," Green said. "Then maybe you could show us what you're trying to say."

Red walked over to his bag and pulled out the worn shoebox. He opened the lid, revealing a pinkish PokéBall and an old piece of notebook paper. He took out the PokéBall and threw it in the air. "Go, Munna!" A pink, chunky Pokémon emerged from the light and floated towards Leaf and Green. Red felt a pang of emotion as he thought of his past with Munna.

"_Daddy?" A four-year-old Red in Pikachu-print pajamas looked up at a tall, raven-haired man. "Where are you going, Daddy?"_

_The man sighed. His eyes flickered from the toddler in front of him to the suitcase he was holding. Through the open door behind the man, Red could see lightning light up the sky as it started to rain. "Red, I have to go. I can't stay here. You and Mommy will be in danger."_

_Red started to cry. He flung his arms around the taller man's legs. "No! Why do you have to leave?"_

_His father paused, and spoke again in a whisper. "There's a renegade, and he's looking for me. So I need to hide, and I need to hide you and Mommy, too."_

_Red looked confused. "What's a renegade?"_

"_A…a bad thing. Something that escaped." He knew he wasn't explaining it right, but Red was only four. He wouldn't understand, anyways. The tall man reached into his pocket. "I want you to have this. Someday, you'll understand." He handed Red a pink PokéBall. "I love you, and please tell Mommy I love her, too... Bye, Red." He gently prized Red off of him, and walked out the door. Red stared through the doorway, still sobbing, as a huge shadow engulfed his father…_

Red shook himself out of his thoughts and sat down next to Munna and his two best friends. As usual, Munna would eat their dreams while they slept (it was painless, despite common beliefs), and would replay them when they woke up, for everyone's enjoyment. The fun part was that no one would know what they had dreamt about until Munna replayed the dream. Most times, the hilarity overrode the embarrassment of exposing one's dreams.

All that was left was to wait and see what dreams they would have.

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><p>AN: If everything goes as planned, the next chapter will be very fluffy and very fun for me to write! I can't wait. Let me know what you think of this chapter!

~Ebaz


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three – Revised 1/14/12

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><p>AN: Here's the third chapter…hope you like it! It was fun to write. Enjoy!~

Disclaimer: As usual, I don't own Pokémon.

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><p>The light of early morning filtered through the emerald drapes of Green's spacious bedroom. Three teenagers were fast asleep in comfortable-looking sleeping bags, and a light pink haze emanated from a pink, floral-patterned Pokémon near them. It was a peaceful morning, and it seemed nothing could disturb the serenity.<p>

Leaf stirred, and abruptly rolled over, causing the back of her hand to smack Red in the face.

Red sat up immediately, blinking rapidly and looking around for the source of the rude awakening. He looked behind him and saw Leaf's hand on his pillow. He felt his annoyance ebb away as he carefully placed her hand by her side, making sure not to wake her up. Apparently, she was a restless sleeper. He was just about to fix his sleeping bag and try to get back to sleep when he heard a faint voice murmur his name. Red froze. Had he been careless enough to wake her up? He decided to wait and see if she would actually get up.

Unbeknownst to Red, Leaf was actually fully awake. She was a smart girl; she knew how to manipulate people and analyze their reactions, and of course, this was _exactly_ what she was planning. Leaf had been up for a while now; she was bored with staring at the wall – and, naturally, her mischievous nature meant she couldn't resist playing pranks on her two best friends. She had already executed her plan for Green, of course – she couldn't have done it with Red awake. All that was left to do for Red's plan was to sit back and listen.

Meanwhile, Red was pondering what to do. If he went back to sleep and she woke up, there would be no telling what kind of prank she would pull on him… _Alright, I'll just talk to her or something. Just to see if she's awake._

"Um…Leaf?" Red whispered cautiously, trying to detect a response from the pretty brunette on his right.

"Red…" She mumbled his name and an incomprehensible mumble he couldn't understand. She struggled to keep a straight face, but Red didn't notice.

"Are you awake?" He reminded himself that she would probably say yes, even if she was sleep-talking.

"Yes…my boyfriend, Red…" She trailed off, and inwardly giggled at her mental picture of his reaction.

_Well, this is…surprising._ He'd assumed Leaf's flirtatious attitude was normal for her; now that he thought about it, though, he'd never noticed her acting that way around Green. Now he understood why Green had called him "dense." _Damn. How do I respond to _that_?_ Fortunately, he didn't have to come up with an answer, because Leaf smiled and sat up, creating his second surprise in a matter of minutes. She grinned, and said jokingly, "Did you really think I was asleep?"

He stuttered and attempted to deny it. "Of course not…I –"

She didn't give him time to finish. The next thing he knew, her lips were on his, and his thoughts were swirling; he couldn't think straight; Red and Leaf were the only two people in the world; at that moment, he wasn't the champion or anyone special at all – he was just Red, and she was just Leaf…

They broke apart, and Leaf giggled quietly.

"Yeah, I think it was worth waking you up…"

"But you didn't have to slap me in the face!" Red protested, and Leaf giggled again. This time, he kissed her, and they remained there for a long time with their lips pressed together, he in his red t-shirt and sweatpants, she in her turquoise tank top and shorts.

Contrary to Red's earlier thought, he and Leaf were not the only two people in the world, or even the room. Green was just a few feet away from the couple, and was slowly waking up. Blinking groggily, he sat up – and gawked perplexedly at his two best friends making out in front of him.

"…What. The. _Fuck._"

Red and Leaf stopped what they were doing and looked at Green.

"Oh… When did you get up?" Red asked, blushing heavily and nervously running a hand through his already-messy hair.

Green continued to stare at the couple, his mouth slightly agape. After getting over the initial shock of the situation, he supposed this was expected. Leaf had always paid special attention to Red. He just hoped it didn't tear apart their friendship.

Shaking himself out of his reverie, he stood up. "I'm gonna get dr–" He stopped as he looked at the contents of his closet. "What the hell did you _do?_"

Leaf snickered. Earlier, she had taken all of Green's clothes and replaced them with his sister Daisy's, just for fun. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Unfortunately, a tired-looking Daisy opened the door at that very moment and gave Green his answer. "Green, what are your clothes doing in my room?" she asked, exasperated.

Green sighed and headed towards his sister. "As soon as we get ready, we're leaving for Sinnoh to meet Platina. Make sure Charizard's up for it," he said, aiming the last sentence at Red. With a final exasperated look at Leaf, he disappeared around the corner.

As soon as Green was out of earshot, Leaf turned towards Red.

"How much d'you wanna bet he's plotting against us right now?"

Red sighed. He wouldn't put it past Green to come up with an elaborate counter-scheme. But right now, he had more important things to think about…

_I just kissed Leaf!_

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><p>AN: I know it's a filler chapter, but I thought it was cute… Did you? Unfortunately (or fortunately), there aren't going to be many more fluffy moments. A million thank-yous (each) go to The mysterious Z, Bioniclefan234, dewdrop6, and a random reader for reviewing! :D As usual, please review! ^.^

Au revoir!

~Ebaz


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry I didn't update yesterday! My cousins were visiting from California, and I was out all day. Hopefully this extra-long chapter will make up for it! (It's extra-long by my standards, anyways… XD) As usual, enjoy!~**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Pokemon, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction about it.**

Leaf hadn't had a good night's sleep. As much as she loved being with her two best friends, she wasn't always the biggest fan of sleepovers. And right now, Charizard's wings were creating a steady and comforting rhythm that was _not_ helping her futile effort to remain awake…

"Uhh… Red?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't freak out or anything, but your girlfriend just passed out in my lap."

_"What?"_

"…Yeah. She looked really tired earlier…"

"Fine. Leave her. Just don't get any ideas."

"Whatever."

Hours passed in silence as the trio made their way to Hearthome City, Sinnoh. Surprisingly, Leaf was still sound asleep on Green's lap as they neared the bustling metropolis. As Charizard neared a large estate on the outskirts of town, Red signaled for him to descend. Green's eyesight focused, and he could just make out the outline of a girl with dark, straight hair and a white cap waving energetically.

The flame Pokémon came to a gentle stop on the impeccable, sprawling lawn. The girl ran over, still waving – and stopped abruptly. _What _was _this?_ A girl with long, brown hair was asleep on a spiky-haired boy's lap. She didn't know who the girl was, but the boy was most _definitely_ her boyfriend, and other girls should _not_ be falling asleep on his lap.

"Hey, Pla–" Green stopped at the expression on his girlfriend's face.

"Who is _she_?" Platina asked, her voice soft and deadly.

"Oh… this is my friend, Leaf. She's–"

"Why is she _sleeping on you?_"

"It's not like that; she–"

By now, Leaf was coming to. She looked around blurrily, and she saw a dark-haired girl giving her the evil eye. "Wha–"

"You!" Platina hissed, stepping closer to Leaf. "Battle. Now. Go, Empoleon!"

Leaf shrugged. "Sure, why not?" She yawned and took a PokéBall from her belt. "Go, Blastoise!"

"Empoleon, use Ice Beam on Blastoise's cannons!"

Leaf frowned as Blastoise's strong cannons froze. Now she couldn't use Blastoise's signature attack…

"Blastoise, use Earthquake!" she said instead, almost lazily.

An earthquake erupted around the water penguin, and the super-effective attack knocked it out immediately. Platina huffed angrily and called out her next Pokémon. "Let's go, Luxray!"

The sleek Electric Pokémon pawed the ground and got into a battle-ready stance. It glared at Blastoise, successfully intimidating it.

"Blastoise, use Earthquake again!" This time, however, Blastoise's opponent remained standing. The Gleam Eyes Pokémon continued to glower at Blastoise, as if daring it to attack again.

"Luxray, use Thunder Fang!" In a split second, Luxray was across the lawn. It knocked Blastoise over and bit it with electricity-ridden teeth. Blastoise collapsed and Leaf returned it to its PokéBall, scowling.

"Fine. You want to play dirty? Here we go then! Metagross!" Leaf threw an Ultra Ball in the air, and the Iron Leg Pokémon appeared in a flash of red light. "You know what to do, Metagross." It stayed where it was and shot a purple, glutinous liquid at Luxray from the top of its head. Luxray was clearly impaired; the Poisoned condition was nothing to joke about.

Platina was caught off guard. "Luxray! Toxic!" she said in a wavering voice. Luxray used the same attack as Metagross, but the steel monster just shook it off.

"Forgot to memorize your Type Chart, Platina?" Leaf taunted. She had no idea why the other girl seemed to despise her, but she went along with it anyways. "Metagross, continue!" The gigantic creature created a sparkling ball of energy and sent it flying at its opponent. Luxray was propelled backwards as the energy hit it head-on. It skidded to a halt in front of its trainer, and fainted.

Platina looked from her defeated Pokémon to Leaf's Metagross in confusion. "Zen Headbutt," said Leaf coolly. "Our specialty."

"…Very well. Please come inside for tea." Platina recalled her Pokémon and tried to hide her tears from the others as everyone headed towards the spacious home.

Leaf recalled her Metagross and caught up with the others. "What was that about?" she asked Red and Green in an undertone.

"Well… You fell asleep in my lap, and she was jealous," Green said sheepishly. "We should've woken you up before we landed."

"It's fine," she said, accepting his unspoken apology. She found Red's hand and took it, blushing slightly.

"Oh, we forgot about Munna and our dreams," Red said, and his free hand clasped the pink PokéBall.

"We should look at them after we have tea," Leaf said.

They approached the door, and Platina opened it for the others. A butler greeted them and led them to the parlor. _A parlor,_ Leaf thought wistfully. _It sounds so… fancy._ They sat in ornately carved chairs in front of a table with a pristine white tablecloth. A bowl of buttered biscuits rested in the middle of the table.

The butler addressed them in a formal tone. "Good day. May I request which tea each of you will take?"

"Earl Grey," Platina said without hesitation.

"Green tea, please," Leaf said.

Green and Red, however, had no idea of the many teas that existed. "Uhh… peppermint?" Green asked.

"I'll have peppermint, also," said Red, agreeing with Green for lack of a better idea.

"I shall be back with your tea in a moment," the butler said. He bowed deeply and immediately hurried to the kitchen.'

Green cleared his throat. "I don't think we've met properly," he said. "Platina, these are my friends Red and Leaf. Red and Leaf, this is my girlfriend Platina." Platina blushed heavily as Green put his arm around her.

"It's nice to meet you both," she said shyly. _She's completely different from earlier,_ Leaf thought.

"It's nice to meet you, too," Red and Leaf echoed.

"So, what do you two do for a living?" Platina asked, clearly struggling with small talk.

"Well, we're only sixteen," Leaf laughed politely. She'd made up her mind to be polite to Platina, despite her earlier behavior. "But Red and I are trainers. So is Green, of course. He's Viridian's gym leader," she added. "But you probably already knew that."

Platina nodded. "I can tell you are…quite the talented trainer," she said to Leaf.

"Thanks. But really, I'm nothing compared to Red… He was the Indigo League champion for a long time, but now he just trains so other trainers can challenge him."

"Wow!" Platina's eyes grew wide. "The champion…"

"It's nothing, really. Um, are you a trainer?" Red said hurriedly, attempting to change topics. It was a touchy subject for Green.

"Yes, but I am new to it. I only started about four months ago, to be honest." She looked down shyly, but Leaf was genuinely impressed.

"That's amazing! Your Pokémon already look really strong!" Leaf said, still shocked.

At that moment, the butler returned with a plate of steaming cups of tea. "Earl grey for the little miss, green tea for Miss Leaf, and peppermint for Messrs. Red and Green," he said, distributing the cups and placing a cup of sugar next to the biscuits. He bowed once more and disappeared around the corner.

"This is a beautiful house you have, Platina," Red said, helping himself to the sugar.

"I believe you are mistaken, Red. This is my summer home," Platina said, slowly sipping her tea.

Leaf nearly choked on her biscuit. _A summer home?_ she thought incredulously. _It's, like, five times the size of my house…_

Red, apparently, shared Leaf's thoughts. "Wow…" he said, twisting around in his chair to observe the spacious room.

"My father is very fond of our summer home. He designed it," Platina said.

"Impressive," Leaf murmured, sipping her tea.

There was little conversation after that. Platina seemed to warm up to Red and Leaf, and they accepted her more as well. Platina offered to show them to their rooms, and they accepted.

•••

Leaf stared in awe at the spacious room Platina had given her. A king-size canopy bed at the far wall was decorated in burgundy and gold, and the furniture was as ornately carved as the chairs in the parlor. A gold-colored PC for her Pokémon stood in the corner, and a burgundy healing machine embossed with the Berlitz family crest sat next to it. After looking around to make sure no one was near her, Leaf sprinted to the bed and jumped into it. Laughing with delight, she realized this was probably the softest bed she had ever felt. _I could stay here forever,_ she thought.

•••

Green was sitting on the burgundy couch in his room, which had the same color scheme as Leaf's, when he heard a knock on the gold-plated door. "C'min," he grunted.

It was Platina. She walked over to the couch and sat next to him. "Hello… do you know where Leaf is? I need to…talk to her," Platina said delicately.

"Check in her room… if she's not there, check in Red's room," he said, attempting to ignore the mental images that gave him.

"Thank you," she said. Green gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, and she departed the room blushing.

So Platina knocked on Leaf's door, and when she didn't get a response, peeked inside. It was empty. _I do not want to have to go in Red's room to look for her_, she thought, _but I need to talk to her. So I must._

She silently walked down the hall to Red's room. The door was slightly open, so she peeked inside. Sure enough, the two were in each other's arms, kissing passionately. _I cannot interrupt them,_ Platina thought. _I will come back later._ She sighed and walked back to Green's room, planning what she would say when the time came.

**A/N: That battle scene was hard to write! I had to think of everyone's teams, and I didn't even use all of their Pokémon. Hopefully they'll make more appearances as the real action starts.**

**Thanks so much to The mysterious Z, dewdrop6, and a random reader for reviewing! I hope I granted your wish sufficiently, Z. XD And hopefully dewdrop6's wish will come true in the next chapter as well. (Or will it?...) Anyways, until next time!**

**~Ebaz**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: It's a short chapter this time. I think it's the shortest one yet, actually. DX Still, enjoy!~**

**Disclaimer: I wish I owned Pokémon, but I don't.**

Platina sat close to Green on the maroon couch. His arm was around her shoulders and her head rested on his shoulder; neither one spoke. The dark-haired girl was deep in thought; she had been planning what she would say to Leaf. She suddenly stood up, explaining to Green what she needed to do. She turned around, advancing towards the door.

"Wait." The simple word made Platina stop in her tracks; she turned around and looked at the spiky-haired boy on the couch.

"Yes?" She didn't say it in a demanding way; it was a polite word of inquiry.

Green stood up, strode towards Platina, and kissed her full on the lips. She was so surprised that she nearly fell backwards; she would have if Green's strong arms hadn't caught her gently.

"Now you can go have your girl talk," he said, grinning slightly.

Platina blushed and beamed at Green. With one last look at her boyfriend, she hurried out the door to find Leaf again.

To Platina's disappointment, Leaf still had not returned to her room. Thankfully, Red and Leaf were just talking when she knocked on his door.

"Um… May I speak with Leaf?" Platina asked timidly.

"Sure. Let's go to my room," Leaf said, standing up. She looked at Red meaningfully, and he nodded.

•••

Leaf crossed her legs and clasped her hands together. "So, what did you want to talk about?" she asked, leaning back on her couch.

The younger girl took a deep breath. "I… I am sorry about the way I acted earlier today. It was wrong of me to jump to conclusions. I can tell that you like Red very much, and you would never… Please forgive my actions." She couldn't help it – tears started streaming down her cheeks. She turned away from Leaf, attempting for the second time that day to hide her tears, but Leaf put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"It's alright. I probably would have done the same thing if I was in your situation, to be honest." _Hmm… I don't recognize her…_

Platina smiled faintly through her tears. "Thank you…" She took a tissue from the end table next to her and wiped her face.

"You're welcome. Don't worry about it. You can always talk to me if you need anything," Leaf said kindly.

"Thanks!" Platina said cheerfully. _Wow. She sure can change her mood fast_, Leaf thought. "So… let's talk about something fun!" Platina chirped.

"Hmm… Like what?" Leaf asked.

"Tell me about Red."

The two girls talked for at least another hour, enjoying each other's company.

•••

~Flashback – Earlier that day…~

_ Leaf and Red sat at opposite ends of the gigantic king-size bed in Red's temporary room._

_ "I don't know why, Leaf, but she looked familiar… I don't know where I've seen her before!" Red knit his eyebrows in frustration._

_ "Well, you can't have seen her anytime recently, unless she was one of your challengers, right?" Leaf offered._

_ "I know, but it feels like I've seen her recently…" The raven-haired teenager sighed. "Why can't I remember?"_

_ "I'll see if she looks familiar to me," Leaf said, frowning thoughtfully._

_ There was a knock on the door. Red and Leaf looked at each other, knowing it would either be Green or the very person they were talking about._

_ It was the latter. "Um… May I speak with Leaf?" Platina asked timidly._

_ "Sure. Let's go to my room," Leaf said. _

_ She looked at Red and tried to tell him, "I'll see if she looks familiar or not." He must have understood, because he nodded and smiled faintly. Leaf and Platina left the room and went to talk._

~End flashback~

•••

"I don't recognize her at all, Red. I'm positive I've never seen her before today." Leaf sighed and leaned back on one of the comfy pillows scattered around the bed.

"All right… I'll ask Green later. Actually, we should watch our dreams now. I'll get him." Red stood up and left his room for the first time since he entered.

•••

"She's inside the house. There's other people with her."

"So what do we do?"

"I say we wait until tomorrow. She will be heavily guarded. We must find a time when she is vulnerable."

"Yes. But we must eavesdrop for now, to find out what she might be doing tomorrow."

"Very well."

**A/N: Who's talking at the end? Why does Red recognize Platina? Find out… in a future chapter. I'm not sure which one yet.**

**I didn't really like this chapter… I blame it on my sleep-deprived-ness (which is now a word, in my dictionary). Stupid alarm clock. DX**

**As usual, feel free to review! Pretty please? :D**

**~Ebaz**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I'm sooooo sorry for the late update! I just could **_**not**_** find inspiration; sorry if this chapter is a bit dry. I'll try to update frequently from now on, but school is starting soon and that means homework. :( I'll work out a schedule, though. In the meantime, enjoy!~**

_Red turned around sharply and aimed his pistol at the cowering man in front of him. "Join Team Rocket now," he snarled, "or end up like him." He pointed to the unmoving person on the floor, covered in a horrible red substance._

_ "N-no! I will never join you!" the man stammered, avoiding Red's scarlet eyes._

_ "You asked for it," Red growled, and pulled the trigger. There was an ear-splitting noise, and the man was covered in scarlet and… pasta?_

_ Green walked to Red and gave him a high-five. "Nice job. Those pasta guns really do work." Red grinned and turned into a lamp. Green did the same._

Leaf stared at Red as the pink smoke cleared. "Did you two just kill people with _pasta_?" she asked. "Nice dream… _But it wasn't the one you told us about,"_ she added in a whisper, as Platina was with them as well.

Green shrugged. "My dream's probably weirder. Let's see."

The pink, floral-patterned Pokémon in front of them exhaled a pink, cloud-like smoke, and the three friends became immersed in Green's dream.

_A scarlet machine slowly ascended an impressively tall roller coaster. Green was in the front row – but he was not silently awaiting the drop like the rest of the passengers. Rather, he was hurriedly devouring a large scoop of ice cream on a cone._

_ "What flavor is it?" Platina asked from her seat next to Green's. Oddly enough, she was wearing a large hat with a stuffed Cherubi on top. _

_ "Grass," Green responded with a mouthful of his ice cream, which was indeed the color of grass._

_ Just then, the coaster lurched and began its rapid descent. Many passengers screamed. Platina's hat miraculously stayed on her head, and Green's ice cream – which he was still attempting to finish – remained intact. _

_ After the ride was finished, Platina and Green made their way to the benches to their right. They sat down, and Green finished his ice cream. He grinned._

_ "I told you glue would work! Your hat stayed on, didn't it? And my ice cream, too," he said triumphantly. _

_ The scene changed and Green was sitting on the front steps of his house in Pallet Town. He was looking through a _Your Pokémon _magazine idly, when all of a sudden a cloaked figure appeared in front of him. Green flinched and looked up at the tall person in front of him._

_ "Remember the flowers, Green. Remember the flowers," the figure said, and disappeared just as suddenly as it had appeared. _

_ Green nodded, opened the door, and ran into his house, not bothering to close the door behind him._

"The last dream was quite interesting," commented Platina. "What did the figure mean by flowers?"

"These," Green said, opening up his backpack and producing a bouquet of roses. "Meant to give them to you earlier, but I forgot."

Platina beamed and accepted the bouquet gratefully. "Thank you very much!" she said warmly.

Green waved a hand. "It was nothing." He made a mental note to thank his mother for being the avid gardener she was.

The four sat in silence for a moment, until they were interrupted by a loud grumbling noise that turned out to be coming from Red's stomach.

"Sorry," he apologized sheepishly.

"It is quite alright. I will arrange for Martin to bring supper," Platina said. She left the room and disappeared down the corridor.

•••

Platina walked briskly to the back door. Martin would most likely be in the servants' quarters now, as there was little to do in the kitchen nowadays. She was crossing the acre or so of land separating the main house and her destination when she heard voices coming from the forest to the north of her property. Cautiously, she sent out her Luxray and crept closer to the voices.

"What if we just go in the house and –"

"I'm telling you, if we just barge in there and take her, we'll have no chance!"

She edged closer, motioning for Luxray to come with her. _Are they trying to kidnap me?_ she thought fearfully. She shifted her weight to her left foot and – _snap_ – a twig broke from under her.

"Shh! What was that noise just now?"

"There's someone eavesdropping!"

The voices moved closer, and before Platina could move, two beams of light shone on her fearful figure. Two people with turquoise hair and silver space-like suits emerged from the shadows.

"Why, if it isn't Miss Berlitz herself!" the one on the left sneered.

"How nice of you to make this easier for us!" the one on the right taunted, grabbing a PokéBall from his belt. "Drowzee! Use Sweet Scent!"

The last thing Platina remembered was the leering faces of the two turquoise-haired people and the golden _G_ emblazoned on their shirts before everything went black.

•••

Leaf stared out of the window with her headphones in, absentmindedly tapping her foot on the edge of the bed. She watched as Platina made her way to the small house near the forest. Oddly enough, she headed into the forest instead with her Luxray out. Leaf looked back at Red, who was staring at the ceiling, and Green, who was texting someone on his PokéGear. As she turned back to the window, she saw an oddly shaped aircraft rise out of the woods and head in a northwesterly direction. She ripped the headphones out of her ears and said, "Guys, this is urgent. I think Platina's in trouble."

The trio hurried over to the forested area where Leaf had seen the aircraft take off. There was nothing left except a small black clipboard and an odd smell in the air.

"It's Sweet Scent," Red said. "The right kind can knock you out instantly."

Green picked up the clipboard. "Mission: Kidnap Berlitz girl. Keep her at Spear Pillar for a while to fulfill Boss's plan and eventually demand ransom," he read aloud. "What boss? Who _are_ these people?" he demanded, throwing the clipboard on the leaf-strewn ground. "How do we find her?"

Leaf's answer was simple. "We follow them."

**A/N: I really have nothing to say here except thanks to everyone who has reviewed/alerted/faved so far! You guys are awesome!**

**~Ebaz**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I got distracted reading Harry Potter for the fifty-millionth time. (Seriously, I've read each one, like, fifteen times. XD) It never gets old. Ever.**

**Also, I reviewed another story today, and the author asked if I was a boy or a girl. Just to make this clear, I'm a girl. ^.^"**

**Disclaimer: (I always forget this! D:) I don't own Pokémon or Harry Potter. I do own this story, though.**

The trio wound their way through the upper caverns of Mt. Coronet, the historic dividing line between eastern and western Sinnoh. Since none of them were familiar with Sinnoh's geography, they had borrowed a map from Platina's servant Martin. He had been happy to give them more than enough for their quest to find the lady he served.

"Why does this place have to be _so damn cold_?" Green asked, wrapping his scarf tighter around his neck.

"Well, it's farther north than Kanto, so it only makes sense," Leaf said knowledgeably, studying the map in her gloved hands. "Red, this map doesn't make any sense. Didn't we already pass that…?"

Red took the map from her and frowned. "Hmmm… No, we're over here, see?" He pointed to a narrow passageway near some makeshift stairs. "And there should be a pool of water on our right, look…"

Sure enough, an eerie lake came into sight as Red mentioned it. There were some water Pokémon below the surface; their ghostlike shadows moved slowly in their fathom-deep dwellings.

They continued along the long path until they came to an area fairly devoid of rocks and cave debris. Leaf took a deep breath and said, "Maybe we should stop here for the night. It's almost nine –" she checked her PokéGear – "and we want to get an early start tomorrow. Green, do you have the tent?"

He nodded and produced a large, blue tent, which they began to set up. It was also a gift from Martin, who insisted they take the tent as well as three extra-fluffy sleeping bags and automated Repel dispensers. Surprisingly, the tent required barely any preparation – it sprang into place as soon as Green untied its restraints.

"I was hoping there would be, like, furniture or something," Leaf grumbled as she peered inside the tent.

"This isn't Harry Potter, you know. Although that would be pretty awesome," Red said, unrolling his sleeping bag.

"Nerds," Green muttered.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Leaf and Red yelled simultaneously. Green just rolled his eyes.

They finished setting up camp, and Red let out Charizard to provide them with a small fire, using some twigs they had collected before entering the cave. Leaf lamented over the lack of marshmallows, but quickly forgot about them when Red revealed their dinner: Miltank burgers. And after a very satisfactory meal, the trio retired to their tent.

Despite the spacious tent and fluffy sleeping bags, Leaf couldn't fall asleep. They were in an unfamiliar and cold cave, far away from civilization, and she really hoped that Repel worked. Several wild flying Pokémon flew over their tent with a large flapping noise. _Suck it up, Leaf,_ she told herself. _I've been in worse situations._ She snuggled into Red's chest, yawned, and drifted off to sleep hearing his steady heartbeat.

•••

_WHAM._

Green sat up suddenly, looking around for the source of the noise. On his right, he saw Red and Leaf coming to, but it was unlikely that they caused the noise –

_WHAMWHAMWHAM._

Outside. It was definitely coming from outside. Green instinctively reached for a PokéBall and headed towards the zippered tent opening. Red and Leaf followed uncertainly. He struggled with the zipper – why was it stuck _now_, of all times? – and finally yanked it open.

_WHAM._

An unidentified flying object catapulted itself into the side of the tent. Green sent out his Venusaur, and in the light from the PokéBall, he saw a gigantic, grinning bat. And it was backed by about fifty of its species.

"Golbat!" he yelled to Red and Leaf. "Lots!"

There were two more flashes of red light, and Charizard and Blastoise appeared beside his Venusaur.

"Frenzy Plant!"

"Blast Burn!"

"Hydro Cannon!"

A triple blast of grass, fire, and water illuminated the entire cavern as it decimated the entire colony***** of Golbat. Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise looked exhausted after the incredible amount of energy they had provided. Leaf patted her Blastoise on the back, and the boys just looked at their Pokémon with gratitude.

"Thanks," Leaf said, returning Blastoise to its PokéBall. Green and Red did the same. "But why did that happen?"

Green walked over to the Repel dispenser hooked on the tent opening. "It wasn't on," he said, flipping the switch. The device immediately began spraying a fine mist of Repel.

"We should go back to bed, then," Red said, looking at the other two. They climbed back into the tent and got into their sleeping bags. A still-shaken Leaf pulled her sleeping bag closer to Red's. She had a fear of bats that the other two knew of well. Although it didn't stop her from defending herself, she still couldn't stand the things. Red stroked her hair and kissed her forehead. She responded by kissing him on the lips.

"Aw, get a room, you two," Green said, his voice muffled. Leaf just smiled and closed her eyes. She was with Red; all was well.

**A/N: I'm such a Harry Potter nerd. XD I couldn't resist including it in here… I like to think my favorite books exist in the Pokémon world, too.**

***A group of bats is called a colony, like I used it in this chapter. Don't misunderstand it as the entire population of Golbat in the cave! ^.^"**

**Again, thanks soooo much for everyone who has reviewed, faved, and alerted! You guys are the reason I continue this! And as always, please keep it up. Thanks in advance!**

**Bioniclefan234: This takes place during Platinum, so Team Galactic is still going strong. Red, Leaf, and Green are kind of bypassing the storyline, though. I may change the storyline a bit as well.**

'**Til next time!**

**~Ebaz**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: It took me **_**forever**_** to start this chapter; this week's been crazy, and I still have more to do today, which is why I'm updating in the morning. DX And school starts in three days! I'll probably update this every Saturday or something. Anyways, enjoy!~**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I **_**still**_** do not own Pokémon.**

Green woke up and unwillingly allowed his eyes to open. Adopting a no-time-to-waste attitude, he rolled up his sleeping bag, stuffed it into his bag, and threw it at his two best friends. Red sat up instantly, hitting his head on the top of the tent, while Leaf just rolled over and muttered something about five minutes.

After about thirty minutes of packing up and erasing evidence that they had ever been in the cave, the trio once again began trekking through the caves of Mt. Coronet. They had walked for a little over ten minutes when they saw a trickle of daylight from the opposite end of the cave.

"Yay!" trilled Leaf, breaking into a run. "Race you!" she yelled.

"Cheater!" Red chased after her, with Green not far behind. Green eventually passed up both of them, and they stopped at the exit, breathing heavily.

Red looked around and took in their surroundings: they appeared to be midway up a tall mountain dusted in snow. To their right were several rocks and a patch of snow-covered grass; to their left was a crude staircase carved into the side of the mountain. He consulted the map.

"Well, we want to end up over here –" he pointed to a cave entrance symbol on the map – "but we kind of have to go in a circle to get there – LEAF, COME BACK HERE!" he yelled, for she was running through the patch of grass. As she disappeared from sight, he ran after her, map still in hand.

He heard a muffled laugh from below him. Looking down, he saw Leaf motioning for him to follow. "Just slide down!" she yelled. "It's a shortcut, see?" Sure enough, the entrance they aspired to get to was directly ahead of them.

Red took a deep breath and slid down the snowy mountainside. It was actually kind of fun, he realized, once you got over the risk factor. He landed in a heap on a level portion of the mountain and saw Green land next to him.

"Now where do we go?" Green asked gruffly, shaking the snow off his shirt.

"The entrance is right there," Leaf said, and headed in that direction, with her two best friends not far behind her.

The cave was narrower here, but shorter as well. Green was starting to get worried, as they had seen no sign of Platina or her mysterious kidnappers, when a boy no older than him wearing a strange outfit stopped them.

"Team Galactic will not have you interfere in our plans!" he yelled, and sent out a Glameow.

Red sent out his Charizard. "Blast Burn," he said, not even bothering to get excited over such a small-scale battle. The Glameow was knocked out immediately, and the grunt retreated with a small frown. The three friends were about to move on when Leaf spoke.

"So, you're a part of Team Galactic, huh? What exactly do you do?" she asked the grunt, stepping closer to him.

The grunt blushed and took a step back. "Well, we, uh, plan to create a better universe… Master Cyrus believes it will be the best for the tainted world we live in now…"

"Who is Cyrus?" she asked, leaning closer.

The grunt stepped back again and hit the cold stone wall of the cave. "He's… the leader of Team Galactic. He has Dialga and Palkia at his command," he added bravely.

"How does one control Dialga and Palkia?" Red asked, shooting a dirty look at the blue-haired boy.

"I – I don't know!" he stammered. "But I overheard Master Cyrus say he needs a certain Sinnoh trainer to help him," he added quickly, seeing Red's intensifying glare.

"Platina," Green muttered, and kicked a stray rock on the ground.

"C'mon," Red said, and the trio left the nervous grunt where he was, still backed up against the wall.

After defeating a few more blue-haired grunts and confirming that Platina was indeed who Cyrus needed, the path was clear: the opening just ahead signified the end of their journey.

Leaf took a deep breath and stepped forward. "Let's go."

•••

Beyond them stretched a magnificent platform made of stone and ancient-looking bricks. From the ground rose impossibly tall pillars that framed the sky as they looked up. A single stone pathway formed a straight line between the three friends and four others: three of them wore the same kind of spacesuits the blue-haired people wore; the other was seemingly unconscious and in the arms of one of the suited people.

As the trio walked closer to the others, it became apparent that the man holding the other figure was the leader, and the other two females were of a lower rank. Not surprisingly, the unconscious figure was Platina.

The indigo-haired man stepped forward, still holding Platina. A Gengar followed behind him.

His mouth curled into a smile. "Green. Leaf. Red," he said, his creepy smile widening. "So nice of you to come."

**A/N: Cliffhanger! And I know this chapter was short, but if things go as planned, next chapter will be **_**long. **_**As usual, please review and everything. X3 Thanks again to everyone who has reviewed/alerted/faved! You're awesome!**

**~Ebaz**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Here's chapter nine. And sorry, I lied. This chapter isn't very long, either. DX Regardless, enjoy!~**

**Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah, I don't own Pokémon. Way to rub it in my face. DX**

"Green. Leaf. Red," said the blue-haired man, smiling creepily. "So nice of you to come."

"How do you know who we are? Who are you?" Red demanded.

"How impolite of me not to introduce myself… I am Cyrus. I expect my faithful grunts have informed you of me?" Red scowled, and Cyrus nodded. "And as for my knowledge of you… Well, Red, you are quite the famous trainer, are you not?" Cyrus said. "However, I know of you and your friends because of Miss Berlitz –" he indicated the barely-moving figure in his arms – "and I wish for you to witness the most extraordinary event in history, which will occur in just a few moments, in this very spot." He gestured around the platform, still smiling. "And now, I think I will need a bit of help from Miss Berlitz here. Alakazam, come!"

The trio watched in horror as Platina was lifted into the air by an unseen force. She remained suspended in midair for a moment; then she crashed to the ground, landing in a heap at Cyrus's feet. Green lunged forward, but was thrown backwards by an invisible force. He got back up angrily, but said nothing.

Platina stood up shakily, blurrily looking around. "Where – where am I?" she said weakly, looking up at Cyrus with wide eyes. The Alakazam, which had been lurking behind Cyrus during the whole spectacle, emitted an intense psychic aura and began to invade Platina's mind. The girl stiffly walked to the end of the stone path and held her arms out. Behind her, Cyrus held onto a red, circular chain, which was slowly revolving around him. The red chain grew larger and larger until two huge, slightly transparent spheres appeared out of nowhere. They slowly revolved on their own invisible axes, and began to take the forms of two gigantic creatures that could only be described as _legendary_.

"Dialga… and Palkia?" Leaf breathed, reading her Pokédex in awe. "They control time and space…"

"This is bad," Red said. "This is very, very bad. They're... fighting."

Indeed, the two colossal Pokémon appeared to be battling. Leaf watched as the blue Pokémon (Dialga, her Pokédex told her) launched a huge ball of psychic energy at Palkia, who returned the favor with twice as much power. Meanwhile, Platina still held her arms out in that strange manner, and Cyrus's red chain continued to expand, now circling Platina, while his grunts watched.

All of a sudden, there was an immense rumbling, and the ground shook violently. A huge shadow rose in front of Platina, towering over her like a skyscraper. The columns all around it bent and twisted, deforming the entire place. At the shadow's appearance, Dialga and Palkia ceased their battle and faced it expectantly. It glided to where Cyrus was standing and engulfed him and his grunts without a word. It headed to Platina, about to do the same, when Red yelled, "STOP!"

The shadow turned, and an eerie scarlet smile appeared where its face should have been. "Don't think you can save her, Red. She's with me now. Giratina does not allow visitors." Its booming voice filled his head, echoing in his ears, and turned once more to consume Platina. It vanished at once, leaving nothing but a spinning, spiraling hole of darkness and the two orbs where Dialga and Palkia had been moments before.

Red was the first one to speak. "My dream…"

Green stared at the colorless void. "Is she… gone?" he asked, his voice strangled and soft.

Leaf looked at Red, her eyes pensive. "How…? How is this possible? You're not psychic, are you, Red? How did you see this in your dream?"

Red shook his head slowly, not fathoming how this could have happened. He didn't see how it was possible. How could his dream have come true?

Green walked forward quickly. "I'm going in."

"Green, no!" Leaf shouted, grabbing his arm. "We don't know where that will take us, if it does take us somewhere! It's not safe. We can't go in."

"No," Red spoke up. "We're going in. But we need supplies – lots of potions, maybe some Repel, and definitely Pokémon with good field moves. We'll fly to Snowpoint, which is just north of here, and I'll make sure Charizard knows how to get back." He took a PokéBall from his belt and sent out Charizard. "C'mon, let's go," he said, mounting the Flame Pokémon's back and motioning for the other two to follow. Leaf dragged Green by the arm and they mounted Charizard behind Red. Charizard roared and took off towards Snowpoint City at full speed.

•••

Inside the mart in Snowpoint City, Leaf hastily bought large amounts of the necessary items for survival using the trio's combined money.

"That will be 78,000 PKD," the clerk said, pushing twenty Ultra Balls, fifteen Full Restores, five Max Repels, ten Revives, and a package of TV dinners across the counter.

Leaf hurriedly shoved the items into her bag, thanked the clerk, and ran out the door.

•••

None of the trio talked on the way back to Spear Pillar. Green had a hollow look on his face, and refrained from even looking at his friends. Leaf fiddled with the strap of her bag, looking anxiously from Red to Green. Red just stared straight ahead, focusing on Charizard's path through the skies. When Charizard finally descended and came to a stop, Green rushed to the spiraling hole with Red and Leaf close behind.

"I'm going in," he said, and jumped through the portal.

**A/N: I know I'm not good at describing things… sorry. DX I'll try to do better next chapter.**

**Dewdrop6: Yes, I have a deviantArt. It's the same username as here (Ebaz). I'd love some fanart! That would be awesome! Post a link if you can. Thanks! :D**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Oh. My. Gosh. School has been **_**so**_** crazy. Seriously. I had five tests in the first week, and four in the second week. And don't even get me **_**started**_** on the homework. Teachers are crazy. (Well, at least they are at my school.) School + writer's block = crappy chapter. Please forgive me. D: I've been updating my 100 Themes Challenge, though, so check that out if you haven't already. Anyways, enjoy!~**

"What. The. _Hell._"

This was the only thing that Green could say about the mysterious place he had just jumped into. He was standing on a reddish, earthy ground with greenish plants scattered at random intervals, and above him was no sky, but an inky blackness that unnerved him greatly. Strangest of all, however, was the fact that he seemed to be _floating_ – he hovered a few centimeters off the red-dusted ground, gently bobbing up and down. He looked ahead, noticing that he was on a solitary platform that appeared to be floating as well. In the distance, he could see other platforms near his; he could jump the distance easily, especially since he was floating. He turned around and faced a swirling portal of darkness; he could vaguely make out the faces of Red and Leaf staring down at him.

"Well, are you coming or not?" Green asked, impatiently waving his hand. Shortly, his two best friends fell out of the portal as he had done. Red got to his feet and helped Leaf up; the two hurried to catch up with Green, who had already started half-walking, half-floating towards the opposite end of the platform. They approached the end of the platform and looked down at a small, round spot on the ground. There was a large space between their section of ground and the next.

"It's a bit too far to jump, but I guess I could try," Green said, stepping forward.

"No!" Red said, but as soon as Green's foot landed on (or above, since they were still floating) the round spot on the ground, several small platforms appeared, making the farther platform easier to get to.

"Whoa," Leaf breathed, marveling at the apparently magical world they were in. Green hopped to the mini-platform, which bobbed dangerously in midair before righting itself. He jumped across the remaining platforms and landed safely on the next large chunk of earth. He motioned for the other two to follow, and they did.

•••

Things were going smoothly, more-or-less – Leaf almost fell off the side once, but Red caught her hand and Green groaned at the mushiness that ensued – until they approached an impassable barrier.

"How the_ hell_ are we supposed to cross _that_?" Green asked, pointing at the abyss of murky blackness that separated the trio and the next platform. Red noticed a small red dot in the corner of the platform similar to the one they had seen before.

"Maybe if I step on that…" he murmured, more to himself than the other two. He floated to it quietly, hovered over it – and all of a sudden, he was sideways. "Gah!" he yelled, and tilted his head ninety degrees to look at his friends, who were staring at him with their heads also turned sideways. "I – I stepped on the red dot – and I got up here!" he said frantically, waving his arms up and down. Green hurried to the spot with Leaf close behind, and they too were transported to the sideways platform. Tentatively, they walked towards the end of the narrow vertical platform until Red stepped on another red circle, which led him to the horizontal platform they originally needed to get to. Thoroughly shaken, they headed along, not looking back.

•••

The only other signs of life in the barren place were the tall, kelp-like plants that grew out of the red earth. They waved slightly, even though no breeze blew through the leaves, and Red could've sworn he saw one disappear – but when he looked again, it was the same as it had been before. Sometimes, the platforms moved of their own accord; he supposed it had to do with those red buttons that littered the floor in seemingly random places. Red had no idea what to make of this place.

Green was a highly logical person, and this place – alternate world, maybe – was starting to scare him. It made no sense whatsoever; the sky was black, the earth was red, and _the damn features of the place shouldn't exist in real life._ They couldn't. There was no way in hell that this was even conceivable. _Well, maybe that's where we are,_ he thought dryly, looking around once more. _It's not too far off._

Leaf liked the unimaginable, but this wasn't exactly what she had in mind when she dreamed of alternate dimensions. Come to think of it, she wasn't even sure this _was_ an alternate dimension; she was pretty sure "anti-gravity" and "black sky" weren't synonymous with the term. Honestly, all she wanted to do was go home. She could really use a pair of red, sparkly, magical heels right now. Staring up into the inky, starless sky, she decided that wherever Kansas was, it was definitely better than here.

All three were so preoccupied with their thoughts that none of them heard the small, whimpering voice until they were right in front of the source. A girl with long brown hair sat with her head in her hands, weeping softly. Red, startled, took a step back, but Leaf knelt down gently and asked, "What's the matter?"

The girl hiccupped and looked up with chocolate, almond-shaped eyes that would have been beautiful if they weren't so bloodshot. She took a deep, shuddering breath and slowly whispered, "Who are you?"

**A/N: Yummy, pixelated cyber-cookies for you if you can guess who the girl is! As usual, thanks a million to everyone who reviewed, faved, and alerted! And you can click that magical, shiny button below this that says "Review" and get a lifetime supply of extra-pixelated cookies!**

**~Ebaz**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: GUYS. I. AM. SO. SORRY. *cries* I'm technically not even supposed to be on the computer right now, but I felt absolutely horrible for not updating in so long. I – gah. I don't even have a good enough excuse.**

**Dewdrop6, a random reader, SunnyTea, and Looketh: ****http : / kde-look. org / CONTENT / user-pics / 0 / cookies. gif (Remove the spaces! Even though none of you got it right, you still get cookies for reviewing! Thanks! :3)**

**SunnyTea: Thanks so much! :3 And they have to get their meat somehow, don't they? XD**

**Looketh: You haven't? It's, like, my OTP. XD Thank you! And yeah, Blue and Leaf are pretty much the same person, but since Leaf is game-verse, you can tweak her personality a bit. ('Cause really, game protagonists have no personality whatsoever.)**

**Disclaimer: I'm sure you've realized by now that I. Don't. Own. Pokémon. And if you haven't, please go see a doctor or something.**

**Also, be warned: this chapter is rather… gruesome. For me, anyways.**

"Who are you?"

Leaf smiled gently at the brown-eyed girl. "I'm Leaf, and these are my friends Red and Green." She gestured behind her. "What's your name?"

The girl tugged on her coffee-colored pigtails nervously. "I'm Lyra," she whispered. "A-are you human? Do you come from h-here?" She looked around the barren world and gulped audibly.

Leaf laughed softly. "We're definitely human. We came here through a black hole of sorts… We're looking for a girl with blue-black hair, around my height. Have you seen her?"

"I saw a huge Pokémon hovering through here… It was carrying a girl… and Silver," Lyra said, rubbing her puffy eyes in an attempt to stop crying. "I don't know where it took them… Silver's my best friend! Well, when he's being nice, anyways. What if he's…?" She dissolved into tears all over again.

"Tell you what," Leaf said, getting to her feet. "We'll help you find Silver while we try to find Platina. Then we can all get out of this horrible place." She shuddered, and Lyra stood up. "Let's go!"

•••

The recently-expanded group wandered (read: floated without an idea as to where they were going) through the bleak world, enthusiastically following the occasional shadow flitting across the dark sky. Before long, they came to an unnaturally square plateau with a trail of small platforms marking a pathway to another square area, backed by the inky blackness no one had gotten used to yet. Lyra cautiously took a step forward, and a colossal shadow swooped down and landed in front of her with a flourish. It let out a bloodcurdling shriek, and two figures materialized in front of the quartet: the limp forms of a redheaded boy and a dark-haired girl floated eerily in a circle, their limbs flopping weakly as they revolved. The shadow slowly became solid; yellow stripes surrounded a silver body with black, red-tipped wings. It stared majestically at the orbs in front of it, and then up to the inky sky.

"Red, look," Leaf whispered, tilting her head up to look in the direction of the shadow. There was, in fact, a third form – it hovered above the two teenagers, but was not floating gracefully as they were. In fact, the blue-haired figure was writhing in pain, gritting his teeth against his invisible bringer of pain.

While Red and Leaf stared at the man in the sky – Cyrus, they realized – Green bravely advanced towards the gigantic shadow. "Giratina," he called up to it, taking longer strides as he reached for a PokéBall. "If we give you a battle, will you let them –" he pointed to Platina and the redhead – "come back with us? We'll make sure he –" Green jabbed his finger towards Cyrus – "doesn't bother you any more. Whaddaya say?"

All four trainers heard a deep, booming voice echo inside their minds. _"I will accept your challenge, foolish humans; but I will deal with the invader myself."_ The shadow chuckled malevolently and vanished.

"Great. Now what do I do?" Green muttered, sending out a fierce-looking Salamence. "Guys! I could use a little help here!" he yelled over his shoulder. "Draco Meteor, Salamence, go!"

"Lapras, Blizzard, all over!"

"Pidgeot, Quick Attack!"

A pulsing ball of white-hot energy soared through the black sky and shattered a distant platform into fine red dust. Snow instantly covered the ground, landing on the oddly-shaped plants and maroon earth. Just as Red had predicted, the icy snow also settled on a seemingly nonexistent portion of air – it negated the effects of Giratina's invisibility, enabling Pidgeot to hit it straight on with a powerful Quick Attack. Giratina roared with rage, visible once more, and launched a purple, crackling bolt of pure psychic power towards Pidgeot, hurling the poor Flying-type backwards several feet. Leaf knelt down and stroked the feathers on her Pokémon's back before recalling her to her PokéBall and sending out Shelgon.

"Quickly, Salamence, Zen Headbutt!"

Although the attack seemed to go right through the ghostly Pokémon, Green relied on the fact that Giratina was not immune to the attack and should have taken damage.

"Lapras, Brine!"

Giratina let out a terrifying psychic screech that made the others cringe in pain, and launched another of its deadly psychic attacks at Lapras.

Before it could strike the other Pokémon, Leaf yelled, "Shelgon, Protect Lapras!" Just in time, a glimmering shield stretched in front of Lapras; Giratina's attack slammed into the forcefield and burst into a million pieces that flew out in all directions.

A few fragments shot upwards, piercing the psychic barrier holding Cyrus in his hovering prison. The blue-haired man fell like a stone to the ground and lay still, his body contorted at strange angles and a manic expression of fear still etched on his face. Lyra squeaked in horror as blood spread sickeningly from his blue hair.

"He… He's dead," Red said quietly.

_"Yes,"_ echoed the deep voice inside their heads. _"Although our battle was short, I thank you for a challenging match. Your friends may go free; all I ask is that you never come back here. I will not treat you so kindly if you intrude a second time."_

Leaf nodded, recalling Shelgon in a flash of red light. "Thank you," she said, drawing nearer to her friends, who did the same.

_"Very well. I advise you to close your eyes; I doubt my means of transportation is good for weak eyes such as humans'."_

Leaf barely had time to close her eyes before a blinding flash of white light engulfed all six humans.

And with that, they were home.

**A/N: Finally, the end of chapter 11! In case you were curious, I've listed the teams of Red, Leaf, Platina, and Green. I'm NOT done with these yet (hence the ?s and not-quite-full parties), but I thought it might clear things up a bit. **

**~Leaf's Team~**

Blastoise - Hydro Cannon, Blizzard, Earthquake, Flash Cannon

Metagross - Zen Headbutt, Toxic, Rock Slide, Meteor Mash

Absol - Aerial Ace, Fire Blast, Double-Edge, Psycho Cut

Kirlia - Psychic, Confusion, Thunderbolt, Taunt

Shelgon - Dragon Claw, Rock Slide, Crunch, Protect

Pidgeot - Fly, Aerial Ace, Quick Attack, Steel Wing

**~Platina's Team~**

Empoleon - Brine, Brick Break, Ice Beam, Drill Peck

Weavile – Brick Break, Aerial Ace, Dig, Icy Wind

Luxray - Spark, Bite, Toxic, Thunder Fang

**~Red's Team~**

Charizard - Flare Blitz, Blast Burn, Air Slash, Dragon Pulse

Pikachu - Thunderbolt, Iron Tail, Quick Attack, Volt Tackle

Lapras – Blizzard, Brine, Psychic, Body Slam

Snorlax - Giga Impact, Blizzard, Crunch, Shadow Ball

**~Green's Team~**

Venusaur - Frenzy Plant, ?, ?, ?

Salamence - Fire Blast, Hydro Pump, Draco Meteor, Zen Headbutt

**~Ebaz**


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and New Year! I got Shadows of Almia for Christmas and I love it. _So. Much._ I encourage you to play it if you haven't already!

ALSO, I'VE REVISED CHAPTERS ONE THROUGH THREE. There's not much difference in these, so you won't need to go back and reread, but I'm planning on making some major changes to later chapters. I'll notify you when I've updated those.

Dewdrop6: Thanks so much for your input! Unfortunately, I probably won't have time to go back and edit, but I appreciate your constructive criticism. Also, since this is gameverse, I wanted the characters to be somewhat different than the manga characters, hence the different teams.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon in any way, shape, or form, except for my lovely plush Jirachi and this story.

* * *

><p>Martin the butler polished a dainty teacup for the third time, looking anxiously at the pink-and-gold PokéGear on the counter. Miss Berlitz had gone missing, and neither her friends nor the search parties he sent had notified him of any leads on her whereabouts. It had been four days since any of them had been seen, and he was tremendously worried.<p>

A quiet buzz of voices arose from the west wing, and Martin hastened to the window. Instead of the intruders he expected, however, six teenagers lay sprawled on the grass in various states of disheveled confusion. Spotting Platina amidst the disorder, he rushed to the door and gasped as he noticed her state: her three friends and another girl were gathered around Platina and a redheaded boy (with hair that was far too long to maintain a proper decency, Martin noticed, but this was hardly the time for trivialities). They weren't moving and Platina looked ashen and pale.

Green spoke up first upon noticing the worried butler. "She's just unconscious, but he's got some injuries," he said, gesturing to the two victims in front of him. "We need to get them inside."

Martin agreed, scooping the redhead off the grass. Green did the same with Platina, and they all followed the butler inside.

•••

Lyra knelt at the edge of the bed, staring at its occupant with wide eyes. Said occupant rolled over, a mass of red hair falling into his face. Cautiously, Lyra reached out and moved it out of his eyes.

He was awake in an instant. "Arceus, Lyra! What the hell do you think you're doing?" He glared at her. "And where the hell am I?"

Lyra squeaked and recoiled, slightly afraid of her friend's hostility. "S-sorry, Silver. I wanted to make sure you were… alright," she said uncertainly. "We're at Platina's house. She and her friends saved you, remember?" She offered him a small smile.

"And where is that?" Silver asked gruffly, sitting up.

"Sinnoh," she replied, blushing as the covers slid off his bare torso to reveal several bandages.

"Aw, _fuck_," he swore, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "We've got to get home," he added, spotting his ripped shirt on a chair and pulling it over his head. "Let's go."

"Wait!" Lyra found her voice for the first time since Silver had woken up. He looked back expectantly. "You – we can't leave right now," she said, her voice deflating a bit. "You're hurt, and Platina's helping you out, and – I've been so worried about you!" she exclaimed, fighting back tears.

In a rare show of kindness, Silver put his arms around the petite brunette. "I'm fine," he sighed. "But I'll be better when we get home. Croconaw and my other Pokémon are still in Johto. You understand, right?" Lyra, surprised by the sudden affection, nodded numbly. "Good. Let's be going, then." And with that, he turned the doorknob and disappeared down the hallway with Lyra at his heels.

•••

Leaf, Green, and Red were gathered around Platina's bed when, through the open door, they saw Silver walking down the hallway and Lyra struggling to keep up with his brisk stride. "Hey, you're up!" Leaf called, waving them over. "Want some cookies or something?"

"No," Silver responded curtly. "We've got to go."

Leaf frowned and Platina appeared at the doorway on shaky legs. "You have to rest," the younger girl said. "Traveling will not do you any good."

"Do I look like I give a damn?" Silver growled, and Platina flinched at his language. "Look, thanks and all, but we have to go back to Johto. _Now._ C'mon, Lyra." His friend hastened to his side.

"At least let me call you a plane! You can't possibly get there on foot quickly, and you don't have any Pokémon with you. I will arrange for my pilot to fly you there tomorrow morning." Platina clutched the door frame for support, and Leaf helped her back to her bed. Lyra looked pleadingly at the redhead, and he reluctantly agreed.

•••

After an hour or so in his company, Silver had made up his mind: he detested Green Oak with a burning passion.

It wasn't because of his unfair good looks or cocky attitude, although those didn't help Silver's bias either. No, it was because he was the grandson of a world-renowned professor, had the best education anyone could dream of, and obviously couldn't care less about it all.

Maybe Silver was just bitter about not having a competent father to raise him, much less teach him. Maybe he was jealous of Green for being recognized wherever he went because of his heritage. Maybe he was resentful because Green could get whatever girl he wanted without having to do a thing. But no matter what it was, Green Oak was now an official enemy of Silver.

"Hey, Silver, could you pass the chips?" Green asked. _Speak of the devil_. With a scowl, he thrust the bag at the brown-haired teen. Green caught it with ease and popped one into his mouth. For whatever reason, Silver was even more aggravated at Green's civility towards him. _The son-of-a-bitch_, Silver thought furiously.

The best thing that could be said about the day was that it was over, and he wouldn't have to see any more of the cocky brat from now on.

* * *

><p>AN: Reviews would be so wonderful.

~Ebaz


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: I guess this'll be the last chapter for this fic. I kind of lost inspiration for it after my darling computer decided to delete the last chapter I'd written, but it bothers me to just leave this hanging. I know there's lots of loose ends I haven't tied up yet… Maybe I'll do a sequel, but it won't be any time soon. School is too stressful right now.

To everyone who's been reviewing since the beginning: Thank you so much. I love you all. This was my first fic ever, and it was so nice to have such encouraging responses. Thank you for making me realize how much I love to write.

I'll still be around here, of course. I have my 100 Themes to finish up, and some other stuff, too, which you can check out if you'd like.

I've been talking for too long now. Anyway, here it is – the final chapter of my first fic.

Enjoy.

* * *

><p>The morning rushed by in a blur as everyone pitched in for the Johtoans' trip back home. Martin insisted that he could do it for them, but obviously no one was going to wait around while their new friends worked. There wasn't much to do, anyway – neither of the two had arrived with anything except the clothes on their backs. Platina, ever the benefactress, supplied them with backpacks, food, and other useful items for their trip home; even Silver was grudgingly grateful.<p>

After seeing their new friends off in Platina's private plane, the four of them retreated to her mansion for their own departure. Charizard was healed and ready for flight, but even he seemed upset to go, his tail-fire drooping to barely embers.

Red and Leaf mounted the fire-breathing lizard, but Green hung back.

"Listen, Platina. I…"

She waited patiently as he struggled to find his words.

Having nothing inspiring or touching to say, he sighed. "Come and visit me every now and then, okay? I don't like being lonely."

Platina grinned. Really, she hadn't expected a literary-genius type of goodbye, but she loved it all the same – because it was so _him_, so something he would say. And instead of gracing it with her own eloquent thoughts, she reached up and gave him a tight hug, which he returned with a genuine smile.

He returned to Charizard, but not without looking back at least twice. And she was happy for that – happy that someone cared for her.

Her smile didn't fade once as she watched them fade to a tiny orange dot on the horizon.

* * *

><p>~Ebaz<p> 


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